Hey everyone! Chapter 55, coming right up! I happened to be reading the earlier chapters and realized so many plot elements I completely forgot about! Anyone remember Farukon? Yeah, me neither. Haha. That's mainly because this story has evolved so much since the beginning. In the start, the story was going to work out with the Serpentines planning to turn all of Jamanakai into Creatures so that they could be poached en masse. And Farukon was going to have a bigger role. And Pixal being a superhero was going to be a bigger deal. And Zane was going to die at the end. But literally none of that has happened yet. The plot has changed, so if there are any plotholes along the way that may be why (I'm so sorry you had to put up with such a messy plot).

Comment Reviews:
CHEESEPUFF - No, he no longer has big gaps where his scales were ripped out. This new Lloyd is all brand new, with no scars and no wounds. Wow, 4 in the morning? Sorry! I'm in the Pacific Time Zone. Aw, thanks! Yeah, probably a cult. Garmadon's always getting wrapped up in all these cults, isn't he? -ripped-off is like the pinnacle of humour, honestly :)

Ebony umbreon - Yeah, he'll basically look the same as he did before becoming a spooky scary skeleton. I intend to go deeper into explaining how the Reconstruction Chamber works in the sequel. Haha! I think the green eyes was just a design change, but it would be cool if there was deeper meaning to it. Probably a cult. AT THIS POINT THEY MIGHT AS WELL BE A BOYBAND! Same, honestly.

Anonymous7 - It's fine. Is the mystery really solved? :) I, too, am a bit displeased by the cosmetic changes to the movie/new season. And the cat looks weird, but hopefully it's not the main part of the story. No, that was a plenty pleasant rant. I enjoy other people's opinions. How I think about it? Well, the Hageman brothers (the creators of Ninjago) said on their Twitter that this would be the best season yet. Hinting that they'll be revealing a lot of things, possibly about how Zane got his powers and a bit about the First Spinjitzu Master. I don't like the new look, but I want to wait and see it before I pass judgement. And the movie looks funny, despite the out-of-place cat. That's my 'one penny' on the subject. THANKS! :)

And...enjoy!


Responsibilities.

Morro seemed to have a lot of those.

Yes, he DID plan on fulfilling them all. Eventually. But right now he needed to relax.

Screw his boss and that stupid report he was supposed to write. Screw Dareth for quitting the JPD just his suspension was about to be up to be Gayle's full-time cameraman (not to say he wasn't happy that they'd grown closer, but pulling out at such an inopportune moment was kind of a douche move). Screw his robot body. Screw everything.

He dipped his feet in, against his better judgement. The water would rust his metallic skin, that he knew, but he didn't really care.

He couldn't feel it rise against his body, he couldn't smell the chlorine, he couldn't truly immerse himself in the indoor pool experience. But, at least he wasn't dead yet. If not for the robot body, he'd be dead - for more reasons than one.

It was great to be back home in Jamanakai, truly it was. But what Officer Morro Kaze of the JPD didn't enjoy was all the stress that welcomed him back.

First, his job. Then the crippling amount of overdue rent and bills he hadn't paid in his absence. Then the report. Then Lloyd's troubling existential crisis that Morro feared could only mean something bad, very bad. Then Dareth quitting. Then everyone losing their minds over the more-or-less temporary loss of that insufferable Fairy, Jay Walker. Then all the other loose ends added to the picture with Skylor, Zane, Jay, and Pixal. Then the accountability for Farukon's untimely demise (it really was tragic, but since none of them were especially close to her Morro couldn't help but find the worst part being how much his boss grilled him for letting a civilian die). Then the-

He dunked his head into the water. No time to think about the stress. Now it was time to swim.

Right arm. Left arm. Right arm. Left arm. Kicking. Repeat.

Focus on the movements, on the rhythm, on the beat, on the song of the water submerging him.

But the rhythm was off. His breathing had always kept him in tune before, why not -

…

Oh. Right. Because he COULDN'T breathe, because he was a robot.

Perhaps it was better if he just quit now. He didn't swim very often anymore, due to a certain aquaphobia he didn't like to admit to (as justified as it was), and his performance was suffering as a result. He was getting rusty.

Ha. Rusty. Lloyd would have laughed at that.

Lloyd would have been there to comfort him through his aquaphobia panic attack, if they still shared a body.

The fear didn't rush into him like it used to. He had come a long way in recovering from his fears. But it was still yet another scar that would never fully heal, and what healing it WOULD do would take time.

He didn't have time. He had to get out of there.

What was he thinking, getting into the water like that? It had been therapeutic before, sure, but that was before the War and becoming a ghost and- and- and-

Morro pulled his creaky automaton body out of the pool, trying to ignore the strange looks he got from the other swimmers. Whatever. They didn't understand. They hadn't seen what he'd seen.

He took his towel and dried himself off. Lloyd had actually picked it out, which was apparent by its pungent green hue. Morro hated green. With reason. Lloyd, however, loved the colour. Just one of the many things that set them apart.

He turned his head up to see a young woman standing before him. She didn't dress like she had any intention of swimming, unless she enjoyed swimming in a sundress. She looked familiar, too.

She looked about Lloyd's age and height, maybe a tough taller, with cascading brown-black locks and crystal blue eyes staring down at him.

"Can I help you?" Morro asked.

The girl smiled and pulled him a side. Disconcerting, but he gave her the benefit of the doubt.

"Yes," she said.

"Can we make this fast? I need to get changed." An excuse, but an honest one. He did want to get back into his clothes, and he did want to get dry.

She laughed. "Of course. It's about Lloyd."
Did she just -

He thrusted his arm against her, pressed her to the wall. "How?!" he demanded. "How do you know that name?!"
The girl looked confused. "It's ME, silly. Don't you - oh wait, you haven't seen my human form, have you?"
Morro strained his ears. That voice sounded familiar. And if she was in her 'human' form, then that meant he knew her as a Creature. Which meant…

Oh. Oh God.

He let down his arm and his guard, but was no less unhappy. "Sakura."
"Aw, you say that like it's a bad thing." The girl before him frowned.

"How are you 'human', exactly? And why?"
Sakura looked at him like he was an idiot. "I'm a Hydroscale Switch. My dad is a Hydroscale, and my mother was a human."

"Right." He gave an insightful nod. "Right. But why the change of skin?"

"The existence of Hydroscales is a secret to mainlanders - duh!"

"Well SO-RRY for being such an ignoramus."

"Apology accepted!"
Morro grimaced. Did she not understand sarcasm?

No, she definitely did. He was still wounded by more than a few passive aggressive burns she had sent his way before. So Sakura was just being a jerk. Lovely.

"So if it's such a secret, why did you come to the mainland anyways?"

"My people can take care of themselves! And I want to continue my adventure, to see the world, to help you guys, to fight the Serpentines and avenge what they've done to me and my people, to - "

"I GET IT," Morro seethed. God, could she be annoying. He changed the subject before it could go on. Best to get over with talking to her. The sooner, the better. "So what's all this about Lloyd?"

She rolled her neck a bit before speaking again. "I want to be his friend."
"Then BE his friend."
Sakura harrumphed. "I already AM, dummy, but like...more than that."
Morro gave her a look.

"That's not what I mean!"
"Good," said Morro. "Because if you meant 'more than that' the way I think you did, then I have to tell you that you can't. Lloyd hasn't told me all the details, but I understand that he's a child in an adult's body due to some botched-up magic. It would just be messed up for you to be in a relationship with him. He's like, what? Ten?"

Sakura looked about ready to strangle him. It would do no good, he was a robot after all, but it would at least let off her steam. "I mean. As a best friend. A close friend." Her words were terse and impatient. Morro liked that. Pushing buttons was fun.

"And since he and I used to share a body," Morro deduced. "You thought I could help you."
"That's the idea, yeah," Sakura said. "I want to do something nice for him, to let him know I want to be a good friend of his. Like a date, but without the romance or anything. Does that make sense? So like. What sort of place should we go? Oh! And I'm broke so...yeah."
"Why are you making this such a huge deal? Just go up to him and say, 'Hi Lloyd. We're friends now. Cool? Cool.' And besides, you two hardly know each other. Why him?"
Now he was going from annoying to just plain mean. That was his way, though.

"Because," said Sakura with a small pout. "He seems like a nice, fascinating guy that I would like to get to know. He seems so broken, too. I'd like to take him somewhere nice just to let him know that people care about him, and that he has friends. I intend no harm. I just want to be nice. And where I'm from, you initiate close friendships through service. It seems more authentic that way."

A stiff sigh, and Morro relented. "FINE. Take him to an amusement park or whatever. Maybe ask that Borg girl for some money, she's got a rich dad."

The Hydroscale-in-human-skin beamed at him as he walked back to the locker room. "Thanks!"
Wait. There was one more thing he had to say before parting. Perhaps the most crucial thing of all.

Morro turned around to face the girl, the girl he neither knew nor liked. His smile looked creepy on a robot. "Oh and Sakura? I happen to know 57 ways to make you suffer for eternity, and have the means and motive to act upon each and every one of them. So...be gentle with Lloyd."

And Sakura's expression turned to one of horror, and Morro was off again.

Yes. That was just his way.


So before anyone asks, I'll clarify something about the kind of relationship Sakura is asking for:

It's something called a quasiplatonic/queerplatonic relationship. It's basically like a regular relationship, but without the romance. Just a really, really intense friendship. All sorts of platonic goodness. So Sakura wants that kind of relationship from him, not romantic love. You can look up 'queerplatonic' online, or feel free to ask me any questions you might have if you want to know more :)

In the meantime, thanks SO MUCH for the glowing praise you all continue to give! I love and appreciate you all!

Seeya around!

~Erio